Location:Unknown
by ShadowRaven27
Summary: A collab fic done by me and Cactus52! This a supernatural fic centered on two OCs who look for a sea monster out at sea for their website and find themselves stranded on a seemingly uninhabited island. Their luck and wits will have to do as they try to survive and find a way home.
1. Prologue

**Location: Unknown**

 **A/N:**

 **Cactus - "Hey there kids! Ready for a grrrrreat new adventure?"**

 **Shadow - Um.**

 **Cactus - Well too bad! Here's an OC-centered story about supernatural wonders!**

 **Shadow - Supernatural wonders or do you mean plunders? *Snickers***

 **Cactus - Both.**

 **Shadow - …. Hm. Fair enough.**

 **Well, folks as you can probably see this ain't your ordinary A/N and it's just me and Cactus playing around so, well, reading this is your choice. This here is a collab between me, Shadow, and Cactus there.**

 **Cactus - (Hello, I've written some fanfiction in the past.)**

 **Shadow - ... And so, as Cactus has said this is an OC centered fic so any of you guys here just clicked without looking, thinking it's WildeHopps here's a fair warning. There's none of that here and it's just OCs. If ya'll were hoping for WildeHopps I suggest something else. Really. It's just OCs. *Makes shooing motion to those who thought this fic had WildeHopps* Go on now. *Some readers leave and she puts her hands on her hips and turns to readers still here***

 **Anywho, for you guys who stayed here, thanks very much! And, um…. Wait…. Cactus? Where are ya? *Looks around and scratches head* he's disappeared. Oh dear. Um…. Well. Hm…. Welp. Just so we don't take up much more of your time reading this I better just get the ball rolling now. Please. Guys, girls, ladies and gents. Grab a snack, a comfy seat and-**

 **Cactus - WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!**

 **Shadow - Oh there you are. Where did'ja go?**

 **Cactus - I was busy doing… Cactus stuff.**

 **Shadow - Um, well, whatever that is it's about time to start the chapter already.**

 **Cactus - Yeah!**

 **Shadow - Hm well, more info about this little collab of ours afterwards so stay tuned. On with the show!**

* * *

In the beginning, there were only two words.

"This sucks," Caia muttered as she looked out the window, the rain was pouring down and the power had gone out an hour ago, this was one of the worst storms that had hit zootopia in a long time, strong enough to overpower the climate-wall. Milo's parents and their little red hatchback was nowhere to be seen.

"Yup," Milo replied as he tried to balance a pencil on his nose. After another five minutes of silence Milo gave up on his pencil trick. He decided that instead of moping around he'd find something to do.

"I'll just take a walk around, just shout if my parents show up." Milo informed Caia before walking out of the dark, empty classroom.

The corridor was dark, but enough light seeped in to stop him from walking into a wall. He made his way down the corridor under silence, peeking into the empty classrooms as he went about. He was about to turn and head back to Caia when a small, blinking light caught his eye. In one of the classrooms someone had left their laptop running.

Walking up to it and pressing space Milo was greeted by an article about bigfoot. It seemed whoever owned this computer was really into conspiracy theories. The article seemed to be one of many on a website of some sort.

" _I'm sure they won't mind losing a few hours of battery-life,"_ Milo thought as he picked up the laptop. He was about to leave when he got an idea, setting the computer down he quickly scribbled a note with some paper and a pen that was nearby.

"Dear Mr. Ghostbuster, find your laptop in classroom 3A."

Satisfied with his writing he once again paced back to Caia.

"Guess what I found," Milo said as he he waved the laptop in front of Caia's face, much to her surprise and slight annoyance.

"A laptop? Wait isn't that stealing?" she asked with slight concern in her voice.

"Nah, it's fine. Someone forgot it in another classroom down the hall." he reassured her as he set the laptop down on a nearby table.

"Besides, if they're stupid enough to forget it they deserve to lose some battery." Milo said with a shrug as he started browsing the website that he'd found.

Caia was worried about the laptop and the potential act of stealing that might have been committed but was won over by curiosity as she sat next to Milo who was browsing through files upon files of creature sightings, mysterious phenomenons and conspiracy theories.

"Are these real you think?" Caia turned to face Milo.

"I doubt it, but then again, some of them do look pretty convincing." He answered while staring forward at nothing in particular.

"Look at how many likes they've got! They must be famous or something!" Caia gasped as she pointed at the little thumbs up-counter.

"Internet famous but yeah." Milo replied, "I'd be cool to be internet-famous too."

The hours seemed to turn into minutes as the duo plowed through articles at an alarming pace, but they never seemed to find a shortage of stories. Before they knew it the laptop Milo had "borrowed" died.

"No!" Milo cried out as the screen turned black. "Now we'll never know what the weakness of the fungi!"

"You could probably just smash them." Caia snickered, "I mean, if they're made out of mushrooms it should be pretty easy."

"Hm, smashing mushrooms in the park reveals that theory to be correct." Milo replied while putting on a 'clinical' accent.

"Looks like we figured out the fungi's weakness ourselves." Caia smiled.

Outside the window they could hear a car honk it's horn, breaking the silence that permeated the room. Standing up they both quickly snatched their backpacks and headed for the main entrance. Outside in the downpour they could make out the two lynxes waving happily at them from inside the red hatchback.

"At least they arrived at all." Milo said with an optimistic tone as they hurried to the shelter of the car before their fur got too wet.

Before even having time to shut the door Milo's parents started barraging them with apologies.

"We're sorry it took so long!" Sam frantically apologized with his distinct scandi accent, clearly not from zootopia.

"The traffic was horrible! And the nerve some mammals got to just," Catherine worked her jaw up and down but seemed to be unable to describe just how rude and inconsiderate some people could be out in the traffic.

"It's okay, we found a way to pass the time." Milo said trying to calm them down, frankly he'd wish for them to just start driving already.

"Thank you for letting me stay over at your house today Mr and Mrs. Lotand." Caia voiced her appreciation to the two felines sitting up front.

"It's completely fine, in fact." Catherine smirked as she turned back to face the passengers. "I'm thinking we'll buy food today, i'm too tired to cook."

A smile grew on both Milo and Caia's face at the mention of takeout, it would give them the energy to pull through with the ridiculous amount of studies they had.

ooo

"Welcome to Taco-bull, may I take your order?" The bored voice of the cashier came through on the intercom speaker.

Glancing up and down on the menu the choices became harder and harder as the list of options grew. Eventually Sam made up his mind.

"Can I get a beetle-burrito with extra sauce?" He turned to consult the rest of the passengers on their choice of food and beverage.

"Same," Catherine said.

"Milo?"

"A, uh… Fish taco, no ant-sprinkles." He quickly added the last part.

"And you, Caia?"

"The spiciest one they got." She replied confidently.

"Alright, now we wait." Sam announced as he rolled up the window and drove along to the next drive-thru window.

ooo

"It's amazing how that place stays open when half of city-center completely blacks out." Milo noted as they stepped out of the car and started to head towards the Lotand residence. While Milo did have his own little apartment he found it comforting to return home once in awhile, especially during the weekends.

"Brrrr! How can you live like this?" Caia asked while pacing back and forth due to the cold.

"It may have something to do with fur." Milo snarkily replied while walking over to his room and retrieving an electric blanket.

"Thanks." Caia deadpanned.

"Is that the reason you got the spiciest food? To keep yourself warm?" Milo chuckled.

"Har har har." Caia replied before nabbing her bag of goodies and heading towards the kitchen/dining room.

ooo

"This is starting to become a habit." Milo snorted at the sight of Caia rolling out a sleeping bag on the floor.

"Blame school not me." She responded with an exaggerated sigh. Looking around Milo's room not much had changed since the last time she had been there, that is to say two days ago. He still had the same old unwashed dishes and clothes strewn around, and his desktop PC still had that weird screensaver from the 90's.

"Can I use your computer, Milo?" She asked as she stood up from neatly laying out her sleeping bag.

Milo, who was just about to leave the room for the restroom waved his paws about, "Knock yourself out."

"Hey Milo, what'd be a good name for a paranormal website?" Caia quickly asked before her feline friend was out of hearing range.

"That is unknown."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, it sounds more doctor-y, like something a smart person would say."

"Well, it just made you sound dumb." Caia smirked.

Milo didn't answer, either he'd passed out in the hallway or he'd just ignored her.

But that stuck with her, that one word.

"Hm, Unknown, The Unknown?"

Two weeks later a new website would be up and running, and the internet would never be the same again. It would forever behold the masterpiece of a paranormal website known as,

The Unknown.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Shadow - Alright! That's it for the prologue done by Cactus. I have nothing to do with it cause, well, I have no idea we were going to start with a prologue so, cheers for Cactus! And so, as I promised we will give a little bit more info on this collab of ours, ya ready Cactus?**

 **Cactus - Thanks for thinking it was alright! And yeah! I'm ready to divulge some info on the project we're working on! Not all of it though!**

 **So as we've already told you multiple times, this is an OC-centered collab story focused on exploration, paranormal stuff and action! Unfortunately there is no WildeHopps in this story, look, I like me a good Judy x Nick story as much as the next guy but this one ain't got none.**

 **We're planning on uploading weekly, although expect delays, this is new to us and we have not really streamlined the logistics yet.**

 **Shadow - Basically, we don't want to ruin WildeHopps (or… one of us isn't confident on writing it right yet) and we just wanna write a little something of our own….. Or something. My brain seems shut off today, Cactus wanna take over?**

 **Cactus - Sure! So, *brings out checklist* what the story's about… Check, How often we'll probably upload… Check, about the characters… Hm.**

 **So, in this fic there's out two main characters, Caia and Milo, one's an ocelot and the other's a lynx, you'll have to figure out who is who yourself though (shouldn't be that hard (because i'll tell you now)).**

 **Shadow - Fumu, there wasn't a point to make them guess then?**

 **Cactus - Aaaagh! I can't delete it! *Ahem***

 **Anywho, up first there's Milo, a Scandinavian lynx who wants to become a web designer among other things. … Mind if I hand it back to you Shadow?**

 **Shadow - Sure. So as Cactus has said Milo is a Scandinavian lynx and wants to become a web designer. Adding on to that Milo is a childhood friend of Caia's and they had met coincidentally while buying ice cream and both talking and chasing after a bird when their parents weren't looking. They got lost but eventually a cop had found them and took them to the station and was kind enough to help them find their parents. Well, that was a weird way of becoming friends but then again, they were kids. Kids are weird sometimes. XD**

 **Up next is Caia, an ocelot whose dream is to be a journalist and she is just like (sort of... Somewhat) an older sister who keeps Milo in check (although she's younger) but is also a good and mostly 'mature' friend.**

 **So! That summarizes most of what they are and the last point is that Caia and Milo are our zoosonas. XD We thought it'd be fun that way and I think you can guess which zoosona is whose. (Mine is Caia and Cactus's is Milo of course! XD) We are sorta making this our zoosonas debut so… *Checks checklist* What else….. Hm….**

 **Cactus - I think that's it! So, I better get back to writing.**

 **Shadow - Same. I have a ton to do so we'll be off now! Ciao~ ;)**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/** **N: Cactus: So! Here we are! First chapter of this (hopefully) long story!**

 **Shadow: Let's hope. That it'll be long.**

 **Cactus: So, without further ado, get reading!**

"How did you even afford this place?" Caia asked in disbelief as she looked around the apartment.

"I didn't," Milo replied with a smirk, "Mom and Dad is renting it for me, god bless them for that."

The apartment wasn't that big, but it was big enough to serve it's purpose, to stay in at night and to warm food at. It was located on the outskirts of savannah central, that was the only place that was cheap enough to rent.

"That's awfully nice of them." Caia commented as she sat up from the stained couch, the furniture that had came with the apartment looked like it had went through a blender.

Milo shrugged as he packed up his laptop along with the few other personal belongings that he actually kept in his "home".

"I suppose," he replied before strapping on his backpack and started to head for the door, "You coming? Or should I lock you in here?" He asked her with a goofy grin.

Caia gave him a look before smiling back at him, "First of all, the door is basically made out of plywood, even a bunny could kick through that, second of all you can unlock the door from the inside."

"Check and mate." She thought triumphantly as she read her friend's face.

"Hey!" Milo began, "That's breaking the law!"

"I'll say it was in self-defense." Caia deflected his argument.

"Yeah whatever smartypants, are you coming or not?" Milo drew out a sigh.

"Yup!" She stated as she picked up her own backpack and bounced towards the exit.

000

The sun was shining down on the two of them as they exited the brick-cube that housed Milo's apartment. They crossed the street and set their course for the small, green and rusty jeep that stood parked on the sidewalk.

Caia lept up to the passenger side with a single jump, she was too short to reach the door-handle, not that the handle worked anyways. The jeep was one of the older models that had no windows or roof, the batteries that powered it weren't that great either.

"When are you getting a new one?" Caia complained as Milo reached under the dashboard to try and start the vehicle.

"As soon as put mammals on mars." Milo retorted from under the dashboard. A whole lot of groans, awkward angles and effort later the radio flicked to life.

"Well that was real quick. I'm sure that we won't be out here under this blazing heat if you took any longer." Caia said, tone laced with sarcasm.

Milo gave Caia an annoyed look while sitting up in the driver's seat. "Next time you try it," he suggested.

Caia kicked up her feet onto the dashboard, "That wouldn't be as fun though," She snickered while tuning the radio.

Milo decided keeping quiet was his best move for now.

000

"A sea monster you say? Like a giant crab, or octopus?" Milo asked confusedly while putting the car in park.

"Could be, all it says is that there was a huge shadow that they saw in the storm." Caia explained while using her arms to emphasise how huge this monster was supposed to be.

Stepping out of the car and heading down the sidewalk towards the docks Milo picked up the conversation once more.

"That means getting a boat, and we don't have the cash for that I think." Milo voiced his concern.

"We'll figure it out." She reassured him as they finally arrived at the docs.

The docks we're filled with mammals of all species going about their business, every day huge cargo-ships would arrive and leave from here. But there were also plenty of smaller boats owned by sailing enthusiasts and fishers alike, not to mention the ridiculous amount of cafes and restaurants that lined the seaside.

"We can't afford anything here," Milo sighed as he looked at the display-cases showing the prices for renting boats.

The sun was now right on top of them, and the heat started to become unbearable for Milo. Scanning up and down the seaside-walk he spotted a small cafe within their price range.

"Let's go get a drink, please." Milo suggested while pointing towards the cafe.

Caia glanced over at the cafe "Tom's corner stop" and then back to the lynx next to her.

"You know, you really should get a trim, that can't be healthy for you." She said while following him towards the air conditioned indoors.

"Are you joking? I'd look ridiculous!" Milo said with a horrified tone. "Although that would be pretty nice." He thought to himself, but he wasn't going to let Caia know that.

Finding an empty table Milo let out a sigh, "Heat stroke averted," he chuckled.

Rolling her eyes at his comment Caia picked up the menu and began browsing what drinks that were available. She raised an eyebrow when she saw something she'd never seen before.

"What's this one?" She said quizzically while flipping the menu over for Milo to see.

"Buddha's hand? It tastes like lemons if I remember correctly." Milo replied while reading the menu intently.

"Hm, lemon huh? I'll try that." She said with an optimistic tone.

Milo smiled, "Sure, i'll go with cloudberry," he finished as he sat up to go and order their drinks.

"Cloudberry? Is that something you just made up right now or what?" the ocelot said while giving him a skeptic look.

"Zoogle it." He snorted as he walked away to join the queue.

Quickly reaching for her phone she typed in 'cloudberry', what greeted her was a small, yellow berry that looked as if someone had painted a raspberry yellow. "Well, the more you know," She whispered under breath.

000

"Remind me to bring water bottles next time," Milo said as he wiped his brow for the twelve thousandth time.

"I did," Caia deadpanned as she stopped in front of the last shop on their list.

"Michael's boat remtalls?" Milo asked as he gave her a confused look.

"Yep." She replied as she pushed the door and walked in.

"They can't even spell for fishsticks sake!" Milo thought as he read and re-read the run-down, rusted sign over and over again.

The walls inside were oily and torn at the edges, the floor was full of scrape marks and to top it all off everything smelled a bit stale. Caia confidently strode up to the desk while Milo lingered behind, looking about with wide eyes. He quickly tapped Caia on her shoulder.

"What?" She asked him.

"This place is sketching me out, let's go somewhere else." Milo whispered under his breath as he looked her in the eyes. Her look and posture signaled that she wasn't going anywhere. He prepared to dish out a reason for them to leave immediately when the sound of hoofs and a huff came from the back.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." a grumpy old goat appeared behind the counter, glaring at the two on the other side. "So? What are ya standing there for? What do you want!?" he snapped and Caia felt her blood boil under her fur but she held her tongue.

"We would like to rent a boat."

"What's the range you're looking for?" the goat's quick and uncaring answer irritated Caia more. She took a deep breath. She knew that the goat would probably laugh or mock them later after she said it.

"800." there was silence, before the goat burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA! That's not even enough for the cheapest one, get lost!" Caia gripped her fist tightly, her claws digging deep into the flesh under her fur. The mammal behind the desk didn't seem to notice the shift in the ocelot's posture and carried on. "Maybe try getting a job at the strip club, i'm sure it runs in your family anyways." Caia had enough, something inside her snapped. She gripped the goat by his collar and shook him.

"So you think it's funny, huh? Well, I'll show you 'fun'," she said with a face of determination. She pulled back her fist and before the goat could say anything her fist smashed into his face.

"Stop! We'll get in trou-," but before Milo could complete his sentence Caia fist flew with power into the goat's a second time. A few teeth flew and the goat's eyes bulged a little as her fist made impact. The goat's chair rocked back and crashed, leaving the mammal in a heap.

The deed was done, there was no way to regret these actions, but even if she had a choice she would have done the exact same. She stood there silently and watched what she'd done now that the anger seemed to dissipate a bit, he was a jerk, he deserves it. It was best to leave it at that.

"We should get out of here, like, now." Milo gently shook Caia out of her trance.

Trying their hardest to look calm and collected they exited the store and headed for Milo's jeep, only looking back once or twice to check if someone entered the store. Either they were lucky or no-one ever rented that mammal's boats, because for as far as they saw the store no-one entered it, not that they could pin it on them either way.

000

"Well this was a bust, nice punch though." Milo sighed as he took a seat behind the wheel.

"Well, there's one last thing we could try." Caia said while smirking, she showed her phone to Milo.

"Could you drive here?" She asked.

Confused, Milo read the address, "...Fishing company?"

Caia's lips curled into a smile, "I have a cousin working there, he's a fishermammal."

"And?"

"Fishermammals work on…" Caia tried to nudge Milo's thinking in the right direction.

"Boats! You're a genius!" Milo exclaimed as he put the jeep in gear and started to head for the industrial side of the docks.

"I try my best," Caia shrugged, her muzzle a smug smile painted across it.

000

The car rolled to stop in front of the imposing warehouse, the way it was situated made it feel ten times bigger, much of that had to do with the looming shadow overhead. It smelled of fish everywhere, Milo thought he could even identify some of the smells if he'd tried hard enough.

He looked over to Caia who was unbuckling her seatbelt at the moment.

"So what are we going to say?" Milo said as he himself stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut behind him.

"That we'd like to borrow one of the boats for a week or two." Caia replied without breaking her confident march towards the building entrance.

"And you're sure this'll work?" Milo asked while hurrying to catch up to the smaller feline.

She turned her look to Milo and said with a big smirk, "He owes me big time, so yeah."

As they made their way up the small steps to the partially rusted door Milo began to calm down, he was still skeptic about how well this would go but if there was one thing he knew it was how stubborn she could be, the reassuring smiles and encouraging thumbs-ups also helped. He sometimes felt like Caia was like a calm sea but other times, like with the goat at the rental shop, she could turn very violent in an instant. It'll probably be fine he thought.

This was absolutely nuts. Caia internally grimaced as approached the slightly rusted door. You've got no choice. This is your last resort. Even if you don't like it. She reasoned and let out a sigh. Milo saw her sighing from the corner of his eye and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey Caia, what's wrong?" She forced on a cheery smile.

"Nothing much. Oh, and remember to step to the side when I open the door, kay?" Milo raised a brow at the strange behaviour of his friend but nodded his head. They went closer to the door and Caia breathed deeply, chanting in her head to assure herself and she opened the door. She dodged swiftly to the side and a ball of yellow and brown flew passed her, missing Milo only by a hairs breath. She peeked into the room and smiled.

"Hey there Grey. I see Kaira and Avie are doing fine." Caia turned her gaze on the two small figures behind, one an ocelot and the other a brown lagomorph. The two dusted off their clothes as an older ocelot smiled warmly as he walked up to Caia and gave her a hug.

"Nice to see you too Caia. Kaira, Avie and I have missed you." The older ocelot nodded his head towards the two small kits and they ran up to her and latched themselves onto her legs. Milo "awww"ed at hw sight. "It's nice to see that-"

"Grey, you're not going to be forgiven. Nor is Kaira or Avie for for what you three have done to me. So please stop. I don't need your sugar coated words." Caia's words cut sharp like a blade and Milo was shocked. Caia had almost never been as emotionless as she had been then. Her eyes were as dead as a fish's, and her face was as dead as it could be and he couldn't figure out why. Grey slowly let go of her and his face saddened, the two at the teenage ocelot's feet didn't withdraw from their hug and only squeezed her tighter. Caia sighed. "Kaira, Avie." the two young kits shook their heads furiously, refusing to let go. Caia balled her paws into fists while her cousin looked at the ground, seemingly ashamed and defeated. Milo looked between the three, unsure what was happening. Luckily, Grey spoke up to break the silence as sighed.

"Yeah. You're right. Kaira, Avie, let go of your aunt." the two let out muffled whimpers. The young ocelot reluctantly let go but the you doe stayed glued to Caia. "Avie, be a good girl and let your aunt go." after what seemed like an eternity, the young doe let go of her aunt's leg, sniffling and holding back tears and she went to Kaira, the young ocelot's, side. Caia's body remained tense but her emotions seemed to resurface as she forced on a smile.

"Anyways, Grey. I would like to borrow a boat from you, if that's alright." Milo remained confused as his mind replayed what had occurred between the four just moments ago. The atmosphere turned from warm to extremely tense in an instant. Caia was stiff and the other three seemed very remorseful as well as saddened by the fact that she was so harsh.

I've never, for as long as I've known her, ever seen her like that. Milo thought as questions circled his mind until a sudden pat on his shoulder shook him out of his theorising.

"WAH!" his scream overlapped the chuckling behind him. He turned to see his friend chuckling while holding her tummy.

"What was that for!?" Milo asked as the ocelot breathed calming her pulse and laughter.

"I already called your name thrice and you didn't respond. Head off in the clouds again?" she asked teasingly. Her paw was now on her hip, looking at Milo with a slight smile. Milo's fingers fidgeted as he pursed his lips in thought. He knew that Caia was sensitive about the topic of family, being her childhood friend for years, he knew the consequences of asking her about it and he shivered at a memory he had long forgotten but now haunted his mind. Maybe now's not the best time to ask he thought and he forced a smile.

"Nah, nothing. Just thinking about some stuff." Caia raised her brow slightly with a quizzical look before nodding her head.

"Sure…." awkward silence blanketed them like a thick fog as they fidgeted and gave the ground more attention than it asked for, kicking up small dust clouds. Caia kicked up another small dirt cloud, the small pebbles kicked out of the way. She knew Milo was curious about what had happened between her cousin and new two nieces and knew that he wanted to ask about what had happened with them just now and honestly, she didn't want to hide it anymore. She didn't want to lie or cover it up anymore, she was really tired of it but she just….. couldn't really find the courage to tell him, or anyone for that matter, just yet. He might hate me after I tell him and I might lose my only friend. But he would find out sooner or later anyways. She thought glumly before she sighed. There was no way she wanted to be awkward with him any longer right now, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked up at Milo and as they caught each other's eye she smiled.

"Wanna head to my place? I've got some snacks we could munch on while we get our homework done and over before we sail and catch a glimpse of a real, bona-fide sea monster." Milo smiled and chuckled, relieved that the awkward atmosphere would blow away.

"Yeah, let's go." they picked up their usual banter again and chatted as they returned to the old and rusted jeep.

"Really Milo, when will you get something to replace that old thing?" Milo shrugged. His parents had bought it for him and he admit it wasn't in the best condition but he had grew quite fond of it over the years.

"It's working fine so why waste the money? Or would you rather we spent all our savings on a new jeep?" Caia looked at Milo and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, you win. For now." she smirked deviously as she skipped up to the jeep. Milo just strolled slowly, sighing in defeat and shaking his head as he looked at the figure of the small feline with a small smile.

 **Shadow: Okay! That is it for the very first chapter, woohoo! Thanks you folks for reading this and hope you enjoyed this chapter written by both me and Cactus.**

 ***Pops some popcorn into her mouth***

 **Took us a while to finish it with Cactus forgetting he had to write the first half until I reminded him and me procrastinating a little and needing to do the cover for this fic. But we did it! Yay!**

 **Cactus: *Squints eyes*** **Like you haven't been lazy too. But I'm glad we got one chapter off the ground at least. And many more to go, the horrible things haven't even happened yet!** **Hooray!**

 **Shadow: Lol, no kidding though. The trouble is going to begin. Soon. But for now, that's it from us! Ciao~**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

 **"Where we spill our brains for you to decipher." - Some dumb slogan.**

 **Cactus: Fair warning, this chapter contains the word "Heck", you have been warned.**

 **Shadow:... Well then. Let's get on with it.**

* * *

"Don't bust down my door," Milo half joked, half meant as he swung the door open revealing an eager ocelot standing on the other side. She was looking up at him with glee.

Caia stifled a laugh, "You mean your piece of plywood?"

Milo groaned as Caia tried extra hard to wiggle her eyebrows trying to amplify her joke. Eventually she stopped and quickly stepped inside.

Milo's place was looking as it always did, slightly greasy. It didn't bother any of them, mostly because they were both going on a long trip far far away from this place. She watched as her feline friend darted about the place double and triple checking that he'd gotten everything, she had to admit it was a bit amusing watching her friend be slightly stressed out.

"I think that's everything," he sighed as he gave the room a final once-over before slinging his backpack onto his back.

"Took you long enough," Caia replied in a playful manner. It didn't really matter how long they took to get to the boat, the only real time they had to keep was the supermarket closing times.

Together they headed out from Milo's humble residence and out into the afternoon sun of zootopia. There was a slight breeze blowing past as small clusters of clouds dotted the otherwise clear skies.

Once they had gotten into Milo's rickety jeep he turned to Caia, "Where to now?"

She stifled a laugh before pretending to be in deep thought, "Hmm, I'd like to not starve to death when we're out at the ocean."

Milo chuckled before putting the car in gear, "The supurrmarket it is then."

000

"Steer left!" Caia shouted as she stood fast in the front of the shopping cart Milo was pushing along.

"It's called port-side! You landlubber!" Milo chuckled as he obliged and went into the cereal aisle.

They had noticed that they were pretty much the only mammals shopping there at the moment, which gave them ample time to goof around without judging looks from everyone and everything.

"Which one should we pick?" Caia asked while looking left and right at the different boxes lining the shelves.

Milo shrugged, "As long as there's no bugs in them i'm up for anything."

"I already know that part," she groaned before snatching a box half her size off the shelf. "What about this one?"

He curiously inspected the box the ocelot had grabbed. " _Captain Crunch, cereal is cereal, big deal,"_ He thought.

"Sure," He replied and gave her a smile as she slam-dunked the box into one of the shopping bags.

Crossing off the last thing on their list Milo sighed in relief. He liked his list as much as his discussions about anything under the sun, they kept stuff organized and made it all the harder to forget stuff.

When they got out from the supermarket they only had one last stop, the docks.

000

"Let's hope no one steals it, or worse, the cops tow it away." Milo stated with concern in his voice as they emerged from around the corner of an old warehouse with backpacks and bags.

"I doubt it, no one ever checks there, except us." Caia chuckled as she looked at the slightly-less worried lynx next to her.

Milo managed to form a smile on his lips, "We're like, rusty warehouse-pioneers!"

She made a clicking sound with her mouth, "Bingo."

They made their way past the different docks. They passed boat after boat, each a little different, but still kind of the same. Rusted and well-used they all looked a bit too big for the two of them.

"This is the one!" Caia said excitedly as she pointed towards a small, green and slightly rusted fishing boat. The green paint was chipping at some parts and the white plastic was starting to yellow all over, everything smelled of old fish. This didn't faze either Caia or Milo though.

With high spirits they boarded their dream come true, feeling the boat's floor creak and bob underneath them felt amazing. Their adventure was soon beginning, Milo felt like he did when he was merely a cub and was taken to one of those indoor mega-playgrounds, pure bliss.

"Let's unload everything and get situated then," Milo stated while trying as hard as he could to not sound _too_ excited.

She nodded in agreement before racing down as fast as she could with two bags in each paw and a fully loaded hiker-pack on her back.

When they entered the main control-cabin they were greeted by the smell of 'old', it wasn't as bad as Milo had imagined it to be. In fact, this was quite alright and kinda added to the rustic feel of the boat. In the back of the control cabin was a small hatch/steep stair combo that lead deeper into the ship.

The small stairs led down into a small all-in-one room, with a small kitchen, living room and even smaller beds. It was all lit up by small, yellow light bulbs that had clearly seen better days. They painted the room in a shade of calming yellow. The kitchen consisted of a small gas-stove on hinges, allowing it to stay upright even if the boat was out at sea. A small fridge and freezer that opened on the top, and a paw-pumped sink/tap combo.

' _Who's idea was it to put the opening on top?'_ Milo thought as he discovered the opening to the fridge-box-thingy. ' _Do boat-manufacturers just complicate things for the heck of it?'_

Caia looked about the room excitedly, she stood there for a moment while watching Milo hit his head on a low-hanging ceiling-support for the third time. The boat wasn't exactly designed to accommodate someone of his size, but they'd make it work somehow. She went about putting away her belongings in some of the lockable shelves that lined the exterior walls of the ship.

The boat was designed for a crew of around four. ' _That means double the space for us! It's math or something,'_ Caia concluded happily after looking around the room.

She glanced over at Milo who was currently busy stocking the shelves with the grace of a buffalo in a china-shop. ' _I wonder where i'd be if I hadn't met him,'_ The thought circled around her for a moment before she shook it away and climbed back up to do some final preparations.

000

Milo had almost finished sorting all the various food-packages, it had taken him a good half an hour to do considering how much they had shopped. To keep himself awake he decided to talk to the mascots on the boxes like any _perfectly normal_ mammal would do.

"Hey mega-bitez," he said with a monotone voice, the box seemed to ignore him, so he continued on.

"No offense, but you kind of look like you eat babies. Well, I guess I'm in no position to judge someone for having giant, pointy teeth but I at least learned to smile with my mouth closed."

After failing to carry out an intelligent conversation with an inanimate object he eventually got up and headed for the stairs, curious as to where Caia had headed off to.

000

Milo emerged outside only to be surprised by an ocelot putting an old waterproof sailor's hat on him. He felt the hat with his paw and gave Caia a look that said "Really?".

She chuckled as she examined her friend's new hat, quickly jumping up she adjusted the hat ever-so slightly before stepping back.

"Perfect!" She exclaimed happily.

Milo gave up and decided to just roll with it, the hat would protect his head from rain after all. Besides, arguing with her at this point would be both unnecessary and fruitless. He watched as she put on her own hat, she looked too goofy to be real in it. Milo decided to try and avoid sailor's fashion from now on.

"That's what you've been doing?" Milo asked.

"I did more stuff if that's what you're asking," she smiled before motioning for Milo to follow. She went to the stern of the ship where she pointed towards an open box.

"I found a bunch of stuff here!" she told him as he peered into the box, among the normal things such as nets, floaty-things and old seaweed she had also found a fishing-vest, a fishing rod and-

"A bottle of rum? Way to follow the sailor stereotype." Milo noted as he moved the bottle around figuring that there was still some left in it.

They looked at each other and then back at the bottle.

"Should we keep it as a decoration?," Milo suggested, he'd never touched a drop in his life so to speak, and even though it was illegal and he was a law-abiding citizen he was a bit curious.

Caia scoffed, "Yeah right, what if the coast-guard comes?"

Milo looked at the bottle before letting it slip out of his hand and land softly in the box again.

"Doubt they'd search us but. It's probably expired anyways," He reasoned.

She gave him a nod before closing the box behind them as they went to undo the ropes that held the ship in place. The rope was actually pretty easy to untie once you knew where to pull, within the span of a few more minutes the ropes lay sprawled out all over the deck, like snakes someone had defeated in one of those bad kung-fu movies.

Milo and Caia hurried up the the controls of the ship. Inserting the key she got from her cousin the ship started to rumble, shaking beneath their feet. The old engine woke up, coughing and shaking it slowly worked itself up to a stable rhythm. The boat seemed to pulse with the engine let out a laugh as she looked over to Milo, "It works!" She regarded the lynx as his smile widened. He turned to look at her, giving her a nod.

"Set sail into the unknown!" He announced before grabbing the throttle and set it to forward.

"We don't have any sails," Caia teased.

"And you should look where you're steering," he shot back.

000

Caia rose up out of bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly she sat up and glanced at her watch. It was almost midnight. She put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before she walked up the stairs into the cabin up top. She took a moment to just watch Milo quietly while he was concentrating on steering the ship, he always looked a bit goofy even when he was in full concentration. It was kinda entertaining to watch, tongue stuck out and ears flicking with each large raindrop hitting the windshield. He had even put on the sailor's hat despite telling her it was 'uncomfortable' and 'not stylish', although that last thing must have been a joke.

"Sup sailor," she chuckled, his ears locked onto her voice and he quickly snatched his hat and threw it on the control board before turning around.

"Hey-o captain-o," he chimed back, a tired but warm smile on his face. He was basically half asleep already, sunken eyelids, hunched posture and tired breathing. He had also donned a pair of sweatpants and a tanktop, they didn't plan on going out on deck in the rain. Besides, this was way comfier.

She jumped up onto the chair next to Milo and looked out, the small spotlight mounted on the outside of the cabin lit up the small forward deck as well as the vast ocean. Rain was bombarding their vessel constantly.

"That's a lot of rain," she commented while looking back at him. She had no reason to worry, the ship was built to endure even rougher weather, and fishermammals were out in this weather all the time. She leaned back and gazed lazily at the droplets sliding down the windshield. The plug-in radiator was churning and the cabin was dimly lit, the small amount of light there was came from a few small table lamps used for reading sea charts. It felt pleasant, even though they were probably miles out at sea it didn't bother her.

"Yeah no kidding," he said sighing heavily, he looked towards her, "Think we can handle it?"

She chuckled as she looked back at him, always so doubtful, she thought.

"No one of us have barfed yet so I'd say yes," she answered with a smug smile before gazing back out the window. "I mean, so far it's been nice and easy, let's hope this keeps up right?"

He yawned tiredly before answering her question with a goofy smile, barely able to keep his eyes open. She always had something to say didn't she? He asked himself amusingly. He felt himself getting heavier by the second, sleep edging closer to him with every passing minute.

Milo sat up from his chair, "Try not to crash this thing while I'm gone," he said with a teasing voice as he lumbered down the stairs, careful as to not trip and fall horribly. He used his arms to steady himself as he found his way to his bunk. It consisted of two smaller bunks that they had put a bigger madrass over. Even then it was almost too small for the feline, but beggars can't be choosers he reasoned to himself as he crept under the blankets and fell asleep quicker than he had ever before.

As he went down the stairs she looked out at the dark sea, it wasn't as she pictured it in her mind but then again, most things weren't if you haven't seen them before. She took hold of the wheel and enjoyed the rock of the boat. It wasn't like sitting in a car, the smell of leather in her nose, making her feel nauseated and dizzy. The salty air and the smell of rain accompanied her as well as the sound of waves, wind and raindrops. It was quiet and slightly dark but as a mammal which was more active at night she felt wide awake as she hummed and steered the boat, looking at the map and checking the compass to see if they were going the right direction. Days ago, they had gathered some information on the location of the sea monster and found that it was an island located far from Zootopia and way out there. It was a single small island surrounded by nothing other than the sea and the monster appeared to have been sighted around there. The area was known to be uninhabited and was a great fishing spot, at least for the last six years. She checked the monitors and the control board of the boat, making sure that they were still right on track while her mind had wondered for a second. A loud boom sounded like a large drum from a distance and she looked up, large dark clouds covered the sky. Without her knowledge, she had driven into a storm. Rain started to fall heavily on the boat and she bit her lip slightly. This was going to be a bumpy ride.

A few hours of sleep later, Milo was woken up terribly. The boat had swayed to the side hard enough to toss him off the bed and into a wall. He painfully slid down and slowly was once again on the ground. He rubbed his head to stop the throbbing pain at the back of his head when the boat lurched again. This time, he slid across the floor and hit the other side of the room, bumping in furniture as he went.

"What the heck is going on?" He shouted, confused. He got up the best he could and made his way up, slowly as he tried not to fall as the boat repeatedly lurched and jumped. His eyes widened at the sight of the ocelot, gritting her teeth and steering the boat with a scowl on her face as waves seem to try and consume them one after another. Thunder boomed from the skies and lightning flashed in the distance as rain came down almost like hail.

"Caia! What's going on!" She glanced at him for only a second before furiously turning the wheel again, once again making the boat lurch.

"I may or may not have accidentally steered us into the storm." She shouted at the top of her lungs. Water jumped onto the boat as she steered, her eyes focused straight ahead.

"What?!" He was shocked and tried to keep his balance as a huge wave rocked the boat. "How…. and how long has it been has it been that we've been in this storm?"

"Uh… 5 hours since the storm started to get heavier?" She shouted back at him in reply. Her arms and eyes darting around quickly. He groaned and went up to her, not even caring when rain soaked his clothes, his focus solely on the ocelot and the boat itself at the moment.

"I leave you for a few hours to sleep and something _has_ to happen. Oh fuzzbits." She shrugged as she continued to keep her eyes straightforward, occasionally darting a look at the control board, map and compass.

"Trouble likes to find me often." she commented before her eyes widened and she checked the map quickly. "Oh gumballs. Hold on tight Milo!" She warned before quickly spinning the wheel to the left, making the boat take a sharp left as a wave came in to carry them upwards."

"Wha- Aaaaaaaahhhhh!" Milo's eyes widened as he saw the giant rocks in front of them. "Caia, what are you thinking? I don't wanna die!" She grinned as she saw that the boat was being lifted up.

"We won't!" she shouted and pointed at the rocks. He looked and his eyes bugged as the rocks seemed to move away and formed the shape of tentacles as it parted, a screech piercing their ears as they quickly clamped over them. They cheered but soon, it became dread as more rocks appeared and she cursed. "Ugh, heavens." The ocelot muttered before another wave hit the boat. Both lost their footing and their head collided on the wheel, and control board respectively, knocking them out and their world went dark.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Shadow: And troubles start, now! I kid. The next chapter. There will be trouble brewing like we brew coffee (note, I don't drink it but Cactus does.) and we'll be the baristas serving this delicious little cup of coffee. To you, our guests. XD (I'm sorry if I didn't make sense)**

 **Cactus: I'll have a mega-latte-chino with extra espresso something something.**

 **Shadow: Lol, um. Right pfft. Anywho, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And as usual, much thanks to Cactus who always have written quite a bunch cause I'm also writing two more of my own fics. So, arigato Cactus.**

 **Cactus: No problem, be back in like, two weeks.**

 **Shadow: Lol, he ain't really wrong. We slack a lot. XD But yeah, hopefully you guys will think the wait is worth it! Until next time!**


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